1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor with an anti-vibration aspect for determining whether an object, such as a shipping carton, has been upended, turned over, or tilted at greater than a predetermined angle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In today's global economy, goods, materials, manufactured articles, and the like are often transported great distances before reaching their final destination. The shipping process may involve multiple transportation methods. For instance, it is not uncommon for a product manufactured in Asia, to be loaded on a truck, transported to a rail station, loaded onto a railcar, transported by rail to a port, loaded onto a cargo ship, transported overseas to a port, loaded onto a truck, transported over road by truck, and delivered to a warehouse. Once at the warehouse, the product may again be shipped via air or ground before reaching the ultimate user of the product. During this process, the product may be loaded and unloaded many times and occasionally damaged as a result of mishandling. Some products are susceptible to damage if they are not transported in a certain position. For example, some computer hard drives are known to malfunction if they are turned on their sides or upside down.
Various measures are well known in the art to help prevent mishandling of products during transportation and loading and unloading. Such measures include stenciling instructions onto crates to maintain the predetermined orientation. However, these precautions are passive in nature, and do nothing to alert the recipient as to whether the product has been improperly handled or whether damage resulted from shipment.
To address these concerns, various devices were developed that indicated on arrival of materials to their destination as to whether the container had been transported in the recommended position or had been tilted beyond the maximum predetermined angle. An example of one such device is described in Conn, U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 32,570. The Conn tilt detector has proven to be commercially successful.
The Conn tilt detector is susceptible to false activation at some vibration frequencies. What is needed is a device containing an anti-vibration feature so that the device will more accurately indicate whether the material has been mishandled and eliminate false indications of tilting.